President Robert Mugabe says civil unrest in Zimbabwe won’t force him step down or call early elections as protestors clash with police in Harare.

President Mugabe made these remarks today when he addressed a Zanu PF Central Committee meeting in the city, which focused on the current civil unrest in the country and economic problems facing Zimbabwe.

According to the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Mugabe said he was democratically elected by the people in 2013 and therefore opposition parties and civil society organizations, whose members are staging protests, should wait for the next elections in 2018.

His remarks came at a time when members of Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign staged a peaceful demonstration in Harare, which was crushed by the police.

Several Tajamuka members were injured in the running battles with the police with some of them being hospitalized.

Police declined to comment while members of the group claimed that the police vowed to crush the protests and others peaceful demonstrations proposed by political parties and civic society groups.

President Mugabe threatened to crush public protests claiming that some groups are being allegedly sponsored by the West to effect regime change.

These allegations have over the years been denied by opposition parties and citizens.